Flash-light container



G. W. WACKER.

FLASH LIGHT CONTAINER.

APPLICATION FILED MAYs, I911.

Patented Sept. 23, 1919.

ca e srarss PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE W; WACKER, F RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL CARBONCOMPANY, INC., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A. CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

FLASH-LIGHT CONTAINER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 5, 1917. Serial No. 166,536.

. to the accompanying drawings, forming part thereof.

My invention relates to containers or receptacles and has for itsprincipal object to provide a suitable container for a flashlight foruse on life boats or other boats or under other similar circumstancesand which will protect the inclosed flashlight from the elements andwhich shall be of such a construction as to assure that the flashlightshall always be in its place Within the container without the necessityof being compelled to look into the container to see whether theflashlight is there. In this'connection a more particular object of myinvention is to provide such a flashlight containerin which merely aglance of the eye or a touch of thehand will be sufficient to determinewhether or not the flashlight is contained therein. Other moreparticular objects and advantages of my invention will hereinafterappear.

My invention broadly lncludes a container provlded with signaling meansfor automatically disclosing whether or not a flashlight, iscontainedtherein. My invention more particularly includes such a containerprovided with a cover or door which cannot be closed unless theflashlight is within the container and which by its open positionindicates the absence of the flashlight or by its closed positionindicates that the flashlight is. within the container. My inventionfurther includes means for preventing the closing of the door, suchmeans being released by the flashlight as it moves into the container.My invention also includes several detail features of construction andcombinations of'parts as will appear from the following description. a

I shall now describe the flashlight container embodying my inventionillustrated in the accompanying drawings and shall thereafter point outmy invention in claims.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal central vertical section of the completecontainer with a flashlight contained therein and indicated in outlineby broken lines, the hinged door or cover of the container being closedand latched in the closed position.

Fig. 2 is a similar view-with the flashlight absent and illustrates thedoor held open at a conspicuous angle by its opening spring and thesafety means in position for preventing the door from being closedsufliciently to latch it, parts of the open door being broken away.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section on a plane indicated by the line 33 ofFig. 1 as viewed from the right.

Fig. 4 is an end view of the front end of the container as seen from theright in Fig. 1.

The flashlight container embodying my invention illustrated in theaccompanying drawings comprises a comparatively thin shectmctal tube orcasing part 1 which is permanently closed at its rear end by a metalhead 2 and permanently provided at its other or front end with ametallic Vannular cover-supporting ring 3 to which a metallic cover 4 ishinged by means of a pintle pin 5, the hingebeing placed at the top. Theend ring 3 is provided with a gasket 6 for effectin a water-tight sealwith the cover 4. A leaf spring 7, shown as secured by rivets to theinner side of the door or cover 4, projects upwardly and at its upperinwardly turned rounded end engages with the adjacent surface of the endring 3 at a point spaced downwardly from the hinged pintle pin 5 andwithin or below the seallng gasket 6, and this spring 7 whenunrestrained will open the hinged door 4 and will hold this door open,at a wide and conspicuous angle, substantially as is clearly illustratedin Fig. 2 0f thedrawings. latch device is provided for locking thehinged cover or door 4 in the closed position against the tension of thedoor opening spring 7 and this latch comprises a manually operable catchmember 8 which is pivotally connected by means of toggle links 9 to thecover-supporting ring 3 at a point opposite to the hinge pivot 5, themanually operable catch member 8 being adapted ,to engage in a recessformed in the outer side of a downward projection 10 from a the hingedcover or door 4, as is clearly illustrated in Fig.1 ofthe drawings.

Patented Sept. 23, 1919.

Within the container a longitudinally extending transverse shelf orpartition 11 having, as appears in the drawings, a longitudinallyextending semi-circular depressed part, is provided for supporting atubular flashlight 12 centrally of the cylindrical casing part1 andshown in outline by means of broken lines in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

A curved spring 13, secured by means of rivets at its rear end to thetubular casing part 1, extends forwardly and downwardly described areprovided for] preventing the and presses upon theflashlight '12 towardthe frontend thereof and holds the flash- 7 light in place upon thesupporting partition or shelf 11. Safety means new to be latchingonloc'king in closed position of the hinged door 41unless aflashlight,'for ex' ample, the tubular flashlight 12, is in place uponthe supporting shelf 11 within the con tainer and whereby the hingeddoor 4 will then be held widely open at a conspicuous angle by itsopening spring 7, as is illustrated in Fig, 2, so that this widely opendoor 4 thereby constitutes a visual signal for quickly and absolutelydetermining,

merely by a glance at the container, whether or not the flashlight 12 iscontained therein, orelncase of darkness the open or closed condition ofthe door 4 is readily ascertainable 'merely by a touch of the hand,thereby in either case assuring that the flashlight may be obtained fromits container when needed.

In the construction illustrated in the drawings a longitudinallyslidable abutment rod' 14 extends longitudinally in the lower part ofthe casing shell 1 and at its forward endpasses through an opening inand is guided by the door-supporting ring 3' and at its rear end has aslidable bearing in and isguided by a bracket 15 which proj ects forward .from and is shown as secured to the inner side of the rearclosureor head 2 art jacent to the lower edge thereof. A coiled] thrustspr1ng16 surrounds the abutment providing push rod 14 between theforward side of the guide bracket 15 and a thrust ring er -collar 17shown. as held in place on the rod 14 by a pin 18, so that the thrustspr1ng16 constantly tends to slide the abutmentforming rod'14 forward tothe posi tion appearlng'in Fig; 2' in which the for-1 ward end of thisrod projects for a considerable distance to the front of and beyond thefront'door-supporting ring 8,- the forwarding'movenient of'thiss'lidable rod 14' being limited bymeans; of abutmentcollar 19thereonheldin' place by a pin 20 through the rod 14 and engaging thedoorsupporting' ring 3.]as-shown in Fig. 2. It

will now be noted that the slidable abutment rod must. be push'ed inwardagainst the tension of itsthrust spring '16by the hinged cover or door 4asithelatter is moved to its closed position, and itshould also be notedthat the manually operable catch 8 ofthe latch device cannot be.engaged; with the locking projection 10 of the door 4 until the door hasreached its'completely closed position appearing in Fig. 1.

An abutment-forming pawl ongthe bracket 15 adjacent to the rear head 2by means of apivot pin 22 and is adapted in its lower position appearingin Fig. 2 to lie in the path of the rear end of the abut ment-forminslidable" push rod 14 so as to prevent a 'su cient rearward movement ofthis abutment-forming push rod for the closing and locking of the door4, as will be perfectly clear from an inspection of Fig. 2. The freerod-engaging end of the abutment pawl21 is'shown as provided with'anupper extension or projection23 for engaging the standing arm 24 whichforms a bell-crank therewith and which extends upward into.

alinement with and into'the path of movement of the rear end of theflashlight 12 so as to be operated thereby as the flashlight is pushedinto the container. The upstanding lever arm'24 of the'abutment-formingpawl 21 carries on its forward side a forwardly 21 is pivoted directedshallow flaring or bell-shapedsocket 25 adapted to receive therein therear end'of the flashlight 12 and to render additional support to thelatter over that afforded by the shelf 11 and spring 13. "Preferablyand; asshown in the drawings themetallic socket 25 is insulated from theupstanding metallic lever arm 24 by means of an interposed insulating vdisk 26 for thereby preventing the short-circuitingof flashlights assuch lights.

are sometimes constructed. An abutment lug 27 shown as formed upon'theinner side of-the casing head 2 limits the rearward movementof the'upstanding lever arm- 24 and correspondingly limits the upward.-.

movement of the abutment-forming pawl 21. A' curved leaf spring 28 issecured at its lower endfor example by means of rivets as shown, to theinsideof the casing head 2 and presses at 7 its upper turned overendagainst the back of the upstand ng lever arm 24' and'tends constantlyto push this lever arm 24 forward from its verticalposition appearing inFig. 1 to the inclined position appearing in Fig. 2 and thereby to lowerthe abutmentpawl 21 from its elevated position shown in Fig. 1' to itslower abutment-forming position shown in Fi 2. A soft and resihentbutton 29 is carried by the hinged cover or door 4 at the inside andcenter thereof in position to engage the forward 5 end or usual glass orlens of the flashlight 12, as is clearly shown in Fig. 1, this button 29geingof suitable material, such as soft rub- The operation and manner ofuse of the flashlight container of my invention will now be moreparticularly described in view of the fore oing description of theconstruction thereof in the embodiment illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. When the flashlight 12 is inserted into the front end of thecasing part 1 through the open raised door 4 upon the supportingpartition 11, the advancing rear end thereof will push up the curvedforward end of the flashlight-holding spring 13 and as the flashlight 12continues its inward movement the rear end thereof will engage with thesocket in the position of this socket appearing in Fig. 2 and uponfurthe inward movement the flash- 25 light 12 will push rearwardly theupstanding operating arm 24 to the upright or vertical position thereofappearing in Fig. 1, thereby raising the free end of the abutment pawl21 out of the path of the rear end of the abutment-forming push rod 14.The

flashlight 12 may be pushed to its final rearward position appearing inFig. 1 by the rubber button 29 in the closing movement of the hingedcover or door 4, the proportion and arrangement of the parts being suchthat the pawl 21 will be lifted out of the path of the rear end of-thepush rod 14 in time to permit this rod 14 to be pushed inward by thedoor 4 during the final stages of its closing movement. It will be notedthat this final closing movement of the door 4 is opposed by all of thethree springs, 7, 16 and 28. The manually closed door 4 may now belocked in its completely closed position or condition by means of thehereinbefore described catch device including the manually operatablecatch member 8, and this is the condition of the container with theflashlight contained therein which is illustrated in Fig. 1 of thedrawings. Should an attempt be made to close the door 4 in the absenceof the flashlight 12 therefrom, this door can then only be moved untilit engages or abuts against the outer projecting end of theabutment-forming slidable push rod 14 whose rearward movement to anextent sufiicient to affect the latching or looking of the door 4 isprevented by the lowered abutment pawl 21, as hereinbefore described andas will be clear from an inspection of Fig. 2 of the drawings. Moreoverwhen the door 4 is released after the removal of the flashlight 12therefrom, it not only cannot be latched in a closed condition, but itwill be held open at a very conspicuous angle by its spring 7 as isillustrated in Fig. 2, thereby making it clearly apparent to the mostcasual observer that the container is empty. On the other hand it isequally apparent from the most casual inspection of the container in itsclosed condition as illustrated in Fig. 1 that the flashlight 12 iscontained therein ready for use when desired.

It is obvious that various modifications may be made in the constructionshown in the drawin 's and above particularly described within theprinciple and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. A flashlight container comprising a tu- 30 bular casing shell, aclosure for one end thereof, a hinged cover for the other end thereof,means for permitting the closing of said hinged cover only when aflashlight is contained within the container and for preventing theclosing of said hinged cover in the absence of said flashlight from thecon tainer, and further means for holding the unclosed cover in aprojectino position so it will thereby form an unmistzilia'ble signal.

2. A flashlight container comprising a tubular casing partadapted toreceive a flashlight therein, a head closing one end of said tubularcasing part, a hinged door or cover for the other end of said tubularcasing part, 5' automatically acting means for moving said door to theopen position, a catch device for holding said door closed in oppositionto "its automatic tendency to open, and abutment means within thecontainer operative to revent the closing and latching of the 001' whenthe container is empty but adapted to be operated by a fiashlight withinthe container so as to permit the door to be closed and latched.

'3. The invention claimed in claim 2 in which said abutment meansinclude a slidable spring-pressed rod extending longitudinally of thetubular casing part and adapted to project from the front of thecontainer in the path of the door in its closing movement, and a movableabutment in the path of said rod and adapted to be moved out of the pathof said rod by a flashlight inserted into the container.

4. A flashlight container comprising a tubular shell or casing part, ahead closing one end thereof, a door or cover for the other end of thetubular casing shell hinged thereto and including automatically actlnmeans 120 for moving the door to a conspicuous y open position, a latchdevice for locking the door in the closed position, an abutment rodslidable longitudinally within the tubular casing part and adapted toproject from the 125 front end thereof in the path of the door as thelatter is closed, and means within the container for preventin saidsliding rod from being pushed in Ty the door, said means being operableby a flashlight within 180 thecontainer to disengage and release saidsliding rod for permitting the door to be closed and latched. I

.5. A flashlight container comprising a tu-.

said head adapted to form an abutment in the path of the inner end ofsaid rod and adapted to be disengaged from said rod by the advancing endof a flashlight as thelatter is pushed into the container.

6. A flashlight container comprising a tubular casin part or shell, ahead closing one end thereo a hinged cover or door for closing the otherend thereof, a slidable abutment rod guided in and extendinglongitudinally ofsaid tubular casing part and adapted to projecttherefrom in the path of the door in its closing movement a springtending to push said abutment rod to its projecting door interceptingposition, a pivoted pawl within the container adjacent to said head andadapted to form an abutment for the inner end of the said abutment rod,said pivoted pawl'having a lever arm projecting into the path of aflashlight to be engaged by the inner advancing end of the flashlightfor holding'said pawl out of the path of said abutment rod, whereby thedoor may be closed when a flashlight is inserted into the container andwhereby the door is pre vented from being closed in the absence of saidflashlight from the container.

7 The invention claimed in claim 6 in combination with a door-openingspring for holding the door open at a consplcuous an! combination with asupport within the con tainer for the flashlight, and a sprmg forpressing upon said flashlight to hold it upon its support.

10. The invention claimed in claim 9 in combination with a socketprovided. on the lever arm of the pivoted pawl for receiv- 1n en of theflashlight.

11'. The inventlon claimed in claim 6 in combination with a spring forpressing the pivoted pawl to its engaging position.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature.

GEORGE W. WAGKER. Witnesses:

W. WAILER, J. W. VooRrns.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner 01' Patents,

- Washington, D. 0.

andholding in place the rear or inner

